How Much to Charge for Gutter Cleaning: Per-Foot Pricing That Pays
Build a per-foot gutter cleaning price from your cost and production rate, with a setup line, add-ons and a minimum per job.
Charge for gutter cleaning per linear foot of gutter, with a higher rate for each story, a setup charge per trip, add-ons for downspouts and haul-away, and a minimum per job. Build each rate from your cost per labor hour, how many feet your crew cleans in an hour, and a target margin.
Rate per foot = (cost per labor hour ÷ feet per labor hour) ÷ (1 − margin).
Hypothetical two-story rate: ($45 ÷ 70) ÷ 0.60 = $1.071, rounded up to $1.08 per foot.
Why per foot and per story? Because a 100-foot ranch and a 180-foot two-story with a steep pitch are not the same job, and a flat "$150 a house" makes you money on one and loses it on the other.
Scope: US gutter, window and handyman pros pricing residential gutter cleaning. Every rate here is a hypothetical built from stated assumptions, not a market survey. Time your own crew and swap in your numbers.
1. Measure the job in linear feet
Price starts with how much gutter there is. Count every run, front, back and sides, in feet.
You can pace it from the ground or pull it from a satellite view before you drive out. Note the story height of each run, because a back run over a walkout basement can be a story taller than the front.
While you're there, count downspouts and look for gutter guards. Guards that have to come off and go back on are their own line.
2. Know your cost per labor hour
Cost each hour with loaded labor plus overhead. This guide assumes $30 an hour loaded labor (wage, payroll taxes, workers' comp) and $15 an hour of overhead: truck, ladders, insurance, phone, your time quoting. That's $45 per labor hour. Both are assumptions.
The hourly rate calculator builds your real number from your overhead and billable hours. Use that, not ours.
Not sure what belongs in overhead? Overhead and profit breaks it down.
3. Set a production rate per story
A production rate is how many feet of gutter one person cleans in an hour, including ladder moves. It drops fast as the house gets taller.
The assumptions here, for normal leaf and debris load: 120 feet per labor hour on a one-story, 70 on a two-story, 40 on a three-story. Packed gutters, a steep roof or a lot of landscaping under the eaves will slow you down. Time your next few jobs and use your own rates.
4. A hypothetical gutter cleaning price list
Using $45 per labor hour and a 40% target margin. Small service jobs carry a lot of drive and setup time per dollar, so they need a fatter margin than a big remodel. Per-foot rates are rounded up to the next cent, other lines to the next dollar, the minimum to the next $5.
| Line item | Unit | Assumptions | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-story gutters | per linear ft | 120 ft per labor hour | $0.63 |
| Two-story gutters | per linear ft | 70 ft per labor hour | $1.08 |
| Three-story gutters | per linear ft | 40 ft per labor hour | $1.88 |
| Setup and drive | per job | 0.5 labor hours, $5 supplies | $46 |
| Downspout flush | per downspout | 6 minutes | $8 |
| Debris haul-away | per job | 10 minutes, $5 disposal | $21 |
| Minimum charge | per job | 1.5 labor hours, $5 supplies | $125 |
The math for two-story: $45 ÷ 70 = $0.643 of cost per foot. Divide by 0.60 and you get $1.071, which rounds up to $1.08.
5. Worked example: a two-story house
Hypothetical job: a two-story house with 180 feet of gutter, 6 downspouts, and the customer wants the debris gone.
| Line | Math | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and drive | 1 job | $46.00 |
| Two-story gutters | 180 ft × $1.08 | $194.40 |
| Downspout flush | 6 × $8 | $48.00 |
| Debris haul-away | 1 job | $21.00 |
| Total | $309.40 |
The cost side: 0.5 hours of setup, 2.57 hours on the gutters, 0.6 on downspouts and 0.17 on haul-away is 3.84 labor hours. At $45 that's $172.71, plus $10 of supplies and disposal, so $182.71. Profit is $126.69, a 40.9% margin.
Round it to $310 on the quote if you like clean numbers. Just don't round down.
Now a one-story ranch with 100 feet and nothing extra: $46 + 100 × $0.63 = $109. That's under the $125 minimum, so the minimum applies. The drive and the ladder setup don't shrink with the house.
6. Ladders, safety and what not to promise
Most gutter jobs are ladder jobs, and that's where the time and the risk are.
If you have employees, OSHA's general industry ladder rule applies. It requires portable ladders used to reach an upper landing to extend at least 3 feet above it, and it says the cap and top step of a stepladder are not used as steps (29 CFR 1910.23(b)(8) and (b)(11)).
Price the hard stuff as extras instead of eating it:
- Steep or high roofs where you need roof anchors or a lift. Quote them at the three-story rate or by the hour.
- Gutter guards that come off and go back on. Price per foot at a slower production rate.
- Repairs you find on the way: loose hangers, leaking seams, a sagging run. Quote them separately, before you fix them.
- Clogs underground. Flushing a downspout is not clearing a buried drain line. Say so on the quote.
7. Bundle it with the work you already do
Gutter cleaning sells best as an add-on. Window cleaners, pressure washers, handymen and landscapers doing fall cleanups are already at the house with a ladder in the truck.
Price it the same way you price the main service: by measurable unit, with a minimum. See how much to charge for window cleaning, how to price pressure washing jobs and how to price handyman jobs.
Bundled jobs save you a setup and a drive. Give some of that back as a small discount if you want the sale, but check the result with the profit margin calculator first.
Common gutter cleaning pricing questions
How much should I charge for gutter cleaning per foot?
Build it from your own cost and production rate. In the hypothetical price list above, $45 per labor hour and a 40% margin give $0.63 per foot on a one-story, $1.08 on a two-story and $1.88 on a three-story, plus a $46 setup charge and a $125 minimum per job.
Should I charge by the hour or by the foot for gutter cleaning?
Quote by the foot, because the customer gets a fixed number and you don't argue about how long you were on the ladder. Build the per-foot rate from hours so it covers your crew. Keep an hourly rate for repairs and surprises: at $45 an hour cost and a 40% margin, that's $75.
Do I need a minimum charge for gutter cleaning?
Yes. A small one-story job can price below your drive, setup and ladder time. In the example, a 100-foot ranch with no extras figures to $109, so the $125 minimum applies.
How do I price gutter cleaning on a two-story house?
Use a separate per-foot rate for the second story, because the ladder work is slower. In this guide's assumptions, a two-story run takes 70 feet per labor hour instead of 120, so it prices at $1.08 a foot instead of $0.63.
What to do on your next gutter quote
Time your crew on one-story and two-story runs, plug the rates into the formula, and quote by the foot with a setup line and a minimum.
Already sent one? Upload it to the estimate checker and see if it's priced too low. And if bigger jobs are on your plate, here's how to price overhead and profit into them.
